Sterling puts City back on track: Pep Guardiola s men record first win in three thanks to England forward s first-half strike, as they move to within eight points of table toppers Liverpool
Manchester City edged to a crucial victory against high-flying Southampton to close the gap on the top four
Raheem Sterling handed City the lead on 16 minutes after Kevin De Bruyne s delivery was coolly slotted home
Danny Ings was forced off for the hosts before half-time in a major blow with a hamstring injury on Saturday
Ilkay Gundogan and Bernardo Silva both forced Alex McCarthy into action as City pressed for a second goal
Manchester City s Raheem Sterling, right, celebrates after scoring during the English Premier League football match against Southampton at the St Mary s Stadium, in Southampton, Saturday, Dec. 19, 2020. (Adrian Dennis/Pool via AP).
Manchester City returned to winning ways in the Premier League with a 1-0 victory away to Southampton on Saturday.
After back-to-back draws with Manchester United and West Brom, and with neither Sergio Aguero nor Gabriel Jesus starting at St Mary s Stadium, there was pressure on Pep Guardiola s men to find a way past a Southampton side that has looked one of the most impressive in the league this season.
straight to your inboxInvalid EmailSomething went wrong, please try again later.
Subscribe
When you subscribe we will use the information you provide to send you these newsletters. Sometimes they’ll include recommendations for other related newsletters or services we offer. OurPrivacy Noticeexplains more about how we use your data, and your rights. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Thank you for subscribingWe have more newslettersShow meSee ourprivacy notice
Manchester City are looking to go into the Christmas period with a win as they take on Southampton at St Mary s on Saturday.
City have drawn their last two outings to slip to ninth in the Premier League table, eight points off the leaders with a game in hand. Among the early pacesetters are Saturday s opponents Southampton, who sit four points ahead of Pep Guardiola s men.
Whilst Guardiola has not shied away from the fact City’s attacking output needs to improve, he remains confident our goalscoring form will return.
The 49-year-old does not believe his side need to make big changes to our style of play and simply wants his players to remain aggressive in attack and to focus on creating as many changes as possible.
“If 25 shots is not enough, create more,” he said, in reference to the number of chances City had against West Bromwich Albion in midweek.
“The only thing is to insist, be positive and one day it will break.
“Be aggressive, put more players there and when we are able to score goals and win games the confidence will be back.
Guardiola calls for Man City aggression in hunt for goals citizen.co.za - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from citizen.co.za Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.